Woman hopes to redefine perception of beauty

Actress Bullied Over Birthmark Turns Her Flaw Into Art

After years of covering up a prominent birthmark on her face, an actress decided to put it on display.

Paige Lauren Billiot exudes confidence in front of the camera now. But she was not always like that.

“I’ve always trying to focus on why this happened. Why can’t I be just like everybody else?” she recalled.

The 23-year-old was born with a port-wine stain birthmark that covers most of the left side of her face, her neck and her ear.

Billiot said she was teased and bullied growing up because of it. “I had a little boy, probably in third grade, who tried to choke me,” she remembered.

In fifth grade, the she decided to take control of her situation and faced her imperfection head-on.

“I asked the teacher if I could get in front of the class and just introduce myself to get it done and over with. As hard as it was, I got up and told them this is me, and this is a birthmark and I was born with it,” Billiot said.

Her confidence grew over time, and she decided to pursue a lifelong dream of being in front of the camera.

She moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting two years ago and decided to do a photo shoot without covering up her birthmark, but by highlighting it instead.

Billiot hopes her photos will help inspire others to embrace their imperfections. She has started a social media campaign called the Flawless Affect to encourage other people to submit photos of their flaws and help tackle the stigma around body imperfections.

“I’m just hoping, through this project, we can raise awareness about all kinds of flaws, conditions, diseases and just really inspire to embrace that,” Billiot said.

Billiot, who has what’s referred to as a “port wine stain” birthmark covering the left side of her face, commissioned photographer Christy Dunn to capture her in a series of shots highlighting the birthmark. And the response has been extraordinary.

The 23-year-old writes on her Tumblr that she created The Flawless Affect to “give people a creative avenue to shed light on their “flaws,” which she was forced to do early on. She told The Huffington Post that while she experienced “a lot of bullying” growing up, she learned to love herself early on, thanks to moving around to new schools a lot as a child.

“At a young age I was already fed up answering the same questions. So, the first day at a new school I asked the teacher if I could introduce myself. As hard as it was, I got up in front of the whole class, told them who I was and how I was different. I was finally able to breathe, and that’s when I noticed a big change. The bullying stopped almost completely. I realized that a lot of those harsh actions came from a place of fear of the unknown,” she said.

Billot’s activism for self acceptance shines through in a number of shoots she’s done since starting the project, which is meant to empower other people with birthmarks to show them off, too.

And while she still deals with having to explain herself, she told The Huffington Post that her own reaction has completely turned around. “The stares and pointing don’t stop, but my self acceptance has changed, and it makes all the difference,” she said.

The LA-based actress and director was born with the vascular birthmark, or 'port wine stain', that covers the left side of her face. Sometimes referred to as a capillary malformation, the flat red mark is caused by abnormal development of blood vessels in the skin.

"When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with," Paige told the Daily Mail, explaining how she experienced a lot of bullying over it. "Sometimes it even got physical. We moved around a lot so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was."

The inspiration is now encouraging others to celebrate their uniqueness, with a social media campaign called the "flawless affect" project.

Actress Shares Beautiful Photos of the Birthmark She Was Once Bullied Over

Most people in Hollywood try to hide their flaws, but Los Angeles actress and filmmaker Paige Billiot is putting her birthmark front and center.

Billiot was born with a port-wine stain on her face, which affects three out of every 1,000 people. Although it’s not fully understood what causes them, one theory is that there’s a problem regulating blood flow in the capillaries, so blood vessels don’t constrict normally and stay permanently dilated, according to the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation. That creates a permanent pink, red, or purple patch of skin.

There’s no cure for port-wine stains. Some use pulsed-dye laser treatments to lighten them (although they can come back) or heavy-duty makeup to camouflage them. Billiot proudly embraces her birthmark and doesn’t try to hide it. But it wasn’t always that way.

“When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with,” she told the Daily Mail. “It was part of feeling vulnerable. I experienced a lot of verbal bullying and name calling. Sometimes it even got physical. We moved around a lot so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was.”

Rather than letting that get her down, the 23-year-old decided to face things head on. “In the end, the moving helped,” she said. “I got sick of answering the same questions and stood up in front of class and I introduced myself. After that, stares stopped and it helped me accept it more. Now it’s part of who I am, and I don’t see myself without it anymore.”

About a year ago, Billiot launched the Flawless Affect, a blog and Instagram project dedicated to reducing the stigma of so-called “flaws.” For the project, Billiot worked with photographers and artists to create photos that accentuated her birthmark in different ways. Billiot hopes to encourage others to celebrate their own individuality and captions her photos with positive messages, such as: “Always know your #flaw is part of your #life. Remember that you’re #flawless no matter what.”

“The whole goal of Flawless Affect is to redefine beauty and change the perspective of what a flaw is,” Billiot tells Yahoo Beauty. “I’m hoping that people will look at these photos and have a better understanding that whatever makes them different is simply beautifully unique.”

She adds: “The way we’re able to highlight a flaw in such a creative way will hopefully help erase any negative stigma one has imposed on themselves. I hope people accept themselves no matter how different they are and embrace that.”

This Actress Accepts Her Facial Birthmark, to Inspire Others to Love Their ‘Flaws’

There’s a reason photo-editing tools and apps such as Photoshop and FaceTune are so popular. With the touch of a finger or the click of a mouse, zits, blotches, and other perceived flaws disappear. But one actress has decided to step away from the filters, and even makeup, posting images that put her facial birthmark on display.

Paige Billiot, 23, was born with a port-wine stain mark covering her left cheek. Growing up in Los Angeles, the actress and filmmaker was subjected to cruel bullying because of it, which made her feel self-conscious about her looks. “When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with,” she explained. “It was part of feeling vulnerable. I experienced a lot of verbal bullying and name-calling. Sometimes it even got physical. We moved around a lot, so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was.”

But it was when she came to understand that it was her peers’ lack of education that resulted in the taunting that she decided to make a change. “I realized the bullying had lot to do with the unknown,” she said. “In the end, the moving helped. I got sick of answering the same questions and stood up in front of class, and I introduced myself. After that, stares stopped, and it helped me accept it more.” Now, she feels the mark is her defining characteristic, and she can’t picture herself without it.

This confidence led Billiot to pursue an acting career, but it wasn’t without setbacks. “From a young age, I wanted to be in front of the camera. Unfortunately, a lot of people have the same mentality of having the perfect face and the perfect body, whereas my face was too different,” she explained. “In the beginning, it was hard to accept. But growing up made my skin pretty thick, so I had the right mentality, and because of the rejection, I started making my own movies.”

Overcoming prejudices in Hollywood inspired Paige to spread her positive message to others, and last year she launched the Flawless Affect, a blog and Instagram project dedicated to reducing the stigma of so-called “flaws.” For the project, she works with photographers and artists to create photos that accentuate her birthmark in different ways. Now she hopes to encourage others to celebrate their own individuality.

“It’s 2016, and being different is the new normal,” she said. “I wanted to inspire other people. If I can be successful in this industry, nothing can stop them either. I am two-faced, I have this giant thing on my face, and I can be happy and content.”

Billiot hopes the success of the Flawless Affect project will help to redefine beauty and confront stigma in the fashion and beauty industries. “You must have the mentally that a flaw is flawless,” she said. “It will still take a while, but it’s about perspective.”

This actress did a naked photo shoot to highlight the 'flaws' she was born with

Sick of being bullied for her 'flaws', this actress decided to show the world what she's made of, and how proud she is of it!

Thanks to the society's idea of perfect, most women are made to go through self-scrutiny on a daily basis. So, when you're born with something that you know is by default looked down upon by the society, what do you do? Pick a cosy spot in a dark corner and sulk or face the world and stand up against its superficial BS?

This 23-year-old did the latter and chose to draw the world's attention to the flaw of hers that she was born with--a dark red birthmark that covers most of the left side of her face.

Actress and filmmaker Paige Billiot, from Los Angeles, collaborated with a number of photographers to create some outstanding, artistic photos of herself to bring positive attention to her skin discolorations.

The 23-year-old writes on her Tumblr that she created The Flawless Affect to “give people a creative avenue to shed light on their “flaws,” which she was forced to do early on. She told The Huffington Post that while she experienced “a lot of bullying” growing up, she learned to love herself early on, thanks to moving around to new schools a lot as a child.

Paige, who starred in movie Road To Hell, told Daily Mail US that she has never let her birthmark get in the way of her dreams and now hopes to inspire others with her message.

The actress launched her blog, the Flawless Affect, to counter the negativity that engulfs 'flaws'. She told Daily Mail US, "When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with. It was part of feeling vulnerable. I experienced a lot of verbal bullying and name calling. Sometimes it even got physical. We moved around a lot so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was. I realised the bullying had lot to do with the unknown. In the end, the moving helped. I got sick of answering the same questions and stood up in front of class and I introduced myself. After that, stares stopped and it helped me accept it more. Now it's a part of who I am, and I don't see myself without it anymore."

The profession Paige chose was not too kind to her 'flaws' either, as the actress accepts having faced a few set-backs in her career because of her birthmark.

However, she vowed she would never try and hide it apart from the usual make-up she wears day-to-day.

She added, "From a young age I wanted to be in front of the camera. Unfortunately, a lot of people have the same mentality of having the perfect face and the perfect body, whereas my face was too different. In the beginning it was hard to accept. But growing up made my skin pretty thick, so I had the right mentality and because of the rejection, I started making my own movies."

"It's 2016 and being different is the new normal. I wanted to inspire other people. If I can be successful in this industry, nothing can stop them either. I am two-faced, I have this giant thing on my face and I can be happy and content," Paige added.

Paige hopes to turn the Flawless Affect project into a non-profit to help redefine beauty.

An actress has unveiled a candid photo shoot to celebrate the prominent facial birthmark she wears with pride.

Paige Billiot, from Los Angeles, an actress and filmmaker, was born with a dark red mark covering most of the left side of her face.

The 23-year-old collaborated with different photographers to create a number of artistic photo shoots to bring positive attention to skin discolorations.

Paige Billiot has unveiled a candid photo shoot to celebrate the prominent facial birthmark she wears with pride

Paige, who starred in movie Road To Hell, said she has never let her birthmark get in the way of her dreams and now hopes to inspire others with her message.

She launched her own project, the Flawless Affect blog, to tackle stigma around body and appearance 'flaws'.

She said: 'When I was younger the birthmark was hard for me to deal with. It was part of feeling vulnerable.

Paige Billiot, 23, an actress and filmmaker, was born with a dark red mark covering her left cheek, known as a port-wine stain. Now she is creating art to bring positive attention to facial discolouration

Paige, who starred in Road to Hell, and poses above nude on sand for a photograph by Jessica Passecker, never let her birthmark get in the way of her dreams and now hopes to inspire others with her message

When Paige was younger she would often feel vulnerable due to her birthmark, and was bullied verbally

'I experienced a lot of verbal bullying and name calling. Sometimes it even got physical.

'We moved around a lot so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was.

'I realised the bullying had lot to do with the unknown.

'In the end the moving helped. I got sick of answering the same questions and stood up in front of class and I introduced myself.

'After that stares stopped and it helped me accept it more.

'Now it's part of who I am, and I don't see myself without it anymore.'

The actress was also bullied physically because of the mark, and believes this is due to fear of the 'unknown'

She launched her own project, the Flawless Affect, to tackle stigma around body and appearance 'flaws'

Despite growing confidence in her appearance, Paige admitted she has been dealt set-backs in her acting career because of her birthmark.

However, she vowed she would never try and hide it apart from the usual make-up she wears day-to-day.

She added: 'From a young age I wanted to be in front of camera.

'Unfortunately, a lot of people have the same mentality of having the perfect face and the perfect body whereas my face was too different.

Despite growing confidence in her appearance, Paige admitted she has been dealt set-backs in her acting career because of her birthmark, as she claims a lot of people in the field want to find the 'face perfect'

The actress has vowed she would never try and hide it apart from the usual make-up she wears day-to-day

'In the beginning it was hard to accept. But growing up made my skin pretty thick so I had the right mentality and because of the rejection, I started making my own movies.

'It's 2016 and being different is the new normal.

'I wanted to inspire other people. If I can be successful in this industry, nothing can stop them either.

'I am two faced, I have this giant thing on my face and I can be happy and content.'

Paige hopes to turn the Flawless Affect project into a non-profit to help redefine beauty.

Paige hopes to turn the Flawless Affect project into a non-profit to help redefine beauty. She said: 'It has been amazing - I've got a lot of feedback from girls of all ages (..) It's all about perspective'

She said: 'It has been amazing - I've got a lot of feedback from girls of all ages.

'They tell me their stories, they tell me how much they hide it and then tell me that this project has completely inspired them.

'I feel like I can help so many more and try to change their mind set to acceptance.

'You must have the mentally that a flaw is flawless. It will still take a while, but it's about perspective.'

This Actress Is Wearing Her Birthmark with Pride in a Gorgeous Photo Series

Sorry, FaceTune. This woman is redefining 'flawless.'

Thanks to an array of apps, we’re in an era where we can physically and digitally enhance or erase our features way beyond the capabilities of the average Instagram filter. That's why it’s worth noting that Paige Billiot, 23, an actress and filmmaker in Los Angeles, is starting a campaign to highlight “flaws” instead.

In a series of Instagram photos taken by different photographers, Paige shows off a port-wine stain birthmark that covers the left side of her face. And she's encouraging followers to share their own photos, too.

1 Woman Celebrates Her Birthmark With a Beautiful Photo Series

It's not uncommon for people born with diverse features to feel like they don't meet society's expectations of beauty. But now more than ever, men and women are redefining the meaning of beauty by embracing their uniqueness, and 23-year-old Paige Billiot is one of those individuals.

Paige was born with a large port wine stain birthmark over one side of her face. She told The Huffington Post that she experienced bullying as a child, but despite this, she learned the importance of self-love early on. So instead of concealing her beauty mark with mounds of color-correcting cosmetics, Paige started a project called Flawless Affect to showcase her skin in a series of artistic portraits.

In the photos, Paige dresses her birthmark in purple paint, intergalactic stars, and even edgy grunge makeup, proving that your "flaw" can easily be your most gorgeous feature. Hopefully, her empowering movement, along with stories of other women embracing their uniqueness, will inspire people to do the same. Read on to see the stunning shots from her project.

Viva La Birthmark: Actress Paige Billliot Turns Her ‘Flaws’ Into A Stunning Work Of Art

We've been told time and time again that our imperfections are what make us beautiful. Yet, in being confronted with images of the perfect ideal everywhere we turn — whether it be on our television screens or magazine spreads — this only makes our insecurities skyrocket.

That's why it's so empowering to see women like actress Paige Billiot gather the confidence to showcase what it is that makes them that extra bit different — and in turn, inspire us to love our "flaws."

Taking to the blog named The Flawless Affect, Paige commissioned a photoshoot that boasted the "port wine stain" birthmark that has always graced the left side of her face. Check out the extraordinary images that were also posted on her Instagram:

On her blog, Paige also shared some of her thoughts regarding flaws, revealing how she had to persevere through bullying growing up as a kid. However, she thankfully learned to love herself the way she is early on, telling The Huffington Post:

“At a young age I was already fed up answering the same questions. So, the first day at a new school I asked the teacher if I could introduce myself. As hard as it was, I got up in front of the whole class, told them who I was and how I was different. I was finally able to breathe, and that’s when I noticed a big change. The bullying stopped almost completely. I realized that a lot of those harsh actions came from a place of fear of the unknown."

The actress wants to inspire others with her message.

When you don't have "perfect" skin, it's easy to feel like you're less-than. But Paige Billiot, a 23-year-old actress and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, wants to change that.

Billiot was born with a prominent red birthmark over her cheek, a feature you might think she would be inclined to cover up, given her line of work. But she recently collaborated with several photographers to highlight her birthmark, which she describes as a "port-wine stain," in a project called Flawless Affect.

"I created this project in order to give people a creative avenue to shed light on their 'flaws,'" she writes on her Tumblr page. She is inviting others to join the project online. Scroll down for more photos from Billiot's Flawless Affect.

This Woman Is Creatively Capturing Her Birthmark To Challenge How We See Flaws

Paige Lauren Billiot, 23, started "Flawless Affect" to show that so-called imperfections—like the birthmark covering her face—make people beautifully unique.

Paige Lauren Billiot, 23, learned early in life that so-called “flaws” were something to embrace. The Los Angeles-based actress and filmmaker was born with a port-wine stain birthmark over the left side of her face.

“I experienced a lot of bullying, and that really affected me,” she tells SELF. “I’d go home and cry and always wonder, ‘Why can’t I be normal like everyone else?’ All of that negative scrutiny basically made me hate my birthmark and the way that I looked…I felt alone and confused at a young age, so that was very hard to deal with on a daily basis.”

A port-wine stain—which affects about three of every 1,000 people—is caused by swollen blood vessels, and it exists for life, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It made growing up difficult for Billiot, and she became tired of the bullying and staring. That’s when she hit a turning point.

Paige Billiot at age 10. Image Credit: Sivi Billiot

Billiot bravely started to welcome the curiosity people had about her birthmark. She’d confidently acknowledge her port-wine stain when she introduced herself, explaining to people what it was. She says that’s when she first started to accept her birthmark as not a flaw, but something that made her flawless.

“I realized a lot of those negative and harsh reactions people would [have] was really just a lack of education,” she says. “And me just telling them what it was really helped them understand me as an individual. I still dealt with a lot of challenges, and I still do to this day…But thankfully at a young age I was able to accept and embrace how I was different, and that’s how I was able to push through any obstacle that I encountered.”

Now, the actress is working to change society’s perception of flaws like her birthmark through a project she created this year called Flawless Affect. It empowers people who have what they or society might consider a flaw—from external things like psoriasis to internal struggles like depression—by capturing them in stunning images and telling their story on the project’s website and Instagram. In doing so, Billiot hopes to not just uplift the individual but change what people see as “normal” or “beautiful.”

“I really wanted to change the meaning of what a flaw is,” she says. “[It’s] what makes you so unique.” And she’s right—we are all perfectly imperfect.

Billiot is the first person to tell her story as part of the project, and she posed for a series of high-fashion photos highlighting her birthmark. Some images show her nude in the desert, with mud imitating the pattern of her birthmark across the rest of her body. In others, she wears a striking red dress in a forest. She’s posed for photos before, but she’s never had her port-wine stain be the focal point in such a glamorous way. It was an exciting first for her, and she thinks society is ready to see flaws captured as flawless.

“I was really happy to create this whether it got a lot of recognition or not,” she says. “It was a good outlet for myself.”

The next photoshoot Billiot is planning for Flawless Affect will feature a friend of hers who sustained burns to 60 percent of his body as a child during a fire. She hopes to feature people with a range of “flaws” as she grows the project.

“I want it to be things that people can really relate to, and also things that aren’t as known,” she says. “So far I’ve learned about so many conditions I never knew about, and I just want to have people see it in a completely new light.”

You Won't See Birthmarks As Flaws After Seeing These Photos

We're taught we should hide birthmarks, especially ones in highly visible places. But one awesome website proves they're something to show off. Paige Lauren Billiot, an actress with a port-wine stain on her left cheek, started Flawless Affect in hopes of redefining what we think of as flaws. Right now the series includes highly stylized photos of Billiot and her friends, but she plans to expand it to include a broad range of so-called flaws, from eczema to anxiety, to show these aren't things we should ever be ashamed of.

Though she once felt insecure about her birthmark, Billiot now wants to celebrate the uniqueness of her body.

Love your flaws.

How many times have you heard that? If you're a woman that is even slightly in touch with the media, probably a lot. But actress Paige Billiot, known for her role in "Road to Hell," is taking this clichéd saying and turning it into a meaningful campaign called the Flawless Affect.

Billiot was born with a large red birthmark across her cheek, called a port-wine stain. Port-wine stains happen when an area of skin gets an insufficient supply of nerve fibers. When there's a lack of nerve fibers, small blood vessels keep expanding, allowing a greater amount of blood to flow into the blood vessels and causing a stain to form under the skin. This is not an effect from anything that mothers do or do not do during pregnancy.

“When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with. It was part of feeling vulnerable,” she told The Daily Mail.

Growing up, Billiot was bullied and questioned about her birthmark. Sometimes, the bullying turned from verbal to physical. As a kid, her family moved around a lot, and she had to explain over and over again what was on her face. But she eventually learned that standing up in front of her class, introducing herself, and explaining what the birthmark was, stopped a lot of the badgering and helped her accept her skin discoloration.

Now at only 23 years old, she’s continuing to take back agency and is loudly proclaiming that she loves her “flaw.” She created the Flawless Affect by collaborating with many photographers and even encouraging other people with “flaws” to get involved. She wants these artistic photos – some of them nude – to shed a positive light on skin imperfections.

"I created this project in order to give people a creative avenue to shed light on their 'flaws,'" she wrote on her Tumblr page.

Some photos feature her without many clothes on, while others feature her in gorgeous dresses. There's one of her in a robe, seemingly just chilling out at home, and several on her Instagram page in which is she covered in body paint.

Though her profession requires her to be in front of the camera, makeup covers her birthmark while on set. This project marks the first time that Billiot has stepped in front of the camera for a wide audience without cosmetics concealing her “flaw.”

“The whole goal of Flawless Affect is to redefine beauty and change the perspective of what a flaw is. I’m hoping that people will look at these photos and have a better understanding that whatever makes them different is simply beautifully unique,” Billiot told Yahoo Beauty. “The way we’re able to highlight a flaw in such a creative way will hopefully help erase any negative stigma one has imposed on themselves. I hope people accept themselves no matter how different they are and embrace that.”

For the photo above, Billiot outlined her birthmark to emphasize it.

Billiot doesn’t want the project to only focus on skin imperfections or discolorations, and anyone who feels that they have a flaw can join the project.

In the photo above, Billiot poses with artist and body painter Nick Herrera.

“This outlet is for anyone who feels they have to live with some sort of flaw, be it physical, mental, or emotional,” Paige explains. “The Flawless Affect project isn’t just for people with birthmarks, but is expanding to celebrate flaws of every shape and size and kind,” Billiot said.

She eventually wants to turn the project into a non-profit organization to further her efforts in redefining beauty.

“It has been amazing – I've got a lot of feedback from girls of all ages. They tell me their stories, they tell me how much they hide it and then tell me that this project has completely inspired them. I feel like I can help so many more and try to change their mindset to acceptance," she explained. "You must have the [mentality] that a flaw is flawless. It will still take a while, but it's about perspective."

Paige also has a love of being behind the camera. Her five-minute short movie called "Reflection," has had positive reviews. It's an abstract look at gun rights: "It's the person not the weapon," she said.

Paige said she wants to be a motivational speaker. She said she hates to see kids pick on others with harsh words or actions because they don't meet the "social norms of what beautiful should be."

Paige said many people, especially young girls, can relate to her struggles.

"Everybody feels flawed at some level," she said. "We have to be able to accept ourselves."

Her mom said Paige even inspires her. Christine said she has struggled with weight her entire life.

"She said to accept who I am, and love myself more," Christine said. "Instead of the negative, embrace what I do like about myself. It's so freeing."